Blue Man Group unveils new Luxor theater

Coming up on their 25th anniversary, the iconic Blue Man Group celebrated their Luxor homecoming when they unveiled their all-new Blue Man Theater at the Egyptian-themed resort this morning.

Since kicking off their headlining Vegas show at the landmark casino over a decade ago, our favorite blue men revealed during a press conference today that out of all the theaters in which they have performed over the years (including Monte Carlo and the Venetian), their new home at the Luxor is “the ultimate theater.”

“We are all about connection,” explained Chris Wink, original co-founder of Blue Man Group. “We are all about creating kind of a euphoric connection [between the Blue Men and the audience] at the end. So here, I would say that the ultimate theater has alluded us… if I were to describe [the ultimate theater], it would be a phone booth that could hold 700 people or maybe a car…I think this is the closet we have ever come to the perfect setting.

“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” he continued. “There is no balcony, and not only can everyone in the house see well, the Blue Men can see everyone and that’s really a part of the intimacy. The stage is a little lower but we can do all of our technological tricks. There is plenty of room for all of the magic to happen, but it’s close in enough so that that life force stays in the room and doesn’t just go off into the ether.”

The 830-seat venue is ideal for optimal sound and attaining an intimate and “almost claustrophobic” closeness that allows the audience to pick up on every integral facial expression and body movement of the Blue Men. Audience members will experience the most immersive Blue Man Group show in the production’s history.

“It’s not propaganda to say that this [theater] has the best of every room that we like. It really does,” explained Blue man Group original co-founder Phil Stanton. “It’s always been so important that you’re really aware, hyper aware, that you’re around other audience members; really aware that you hear other people’s laughter and we have that in this theater in a way that we don’t have anywhere else — except maybe 300 seats at the Astor Place Theater in New York — but it’s really a combination of little things that we like the most.”

With the core of the Blue Man Group experience boasting the outshining message of raw human interaction that can be traced back to the big bang, the goal of the new theater is to leave the audience members feeling as though the space itself is a fourth Blue Man.

“We kind of call the space the fourth Blue Man because the real magic doesn’t happen just with Blue Men out anywhere — it’s Blue Man and this world that they bring you in to,” Wink explained. “That’s why the theater is so important because that’s the real medium that we are working in, you know? We have to go promotionally appear here and there, but we are very selective and we are very careful because once we leave the theater, it’s kind of like that fourth Blue Man is left behind. And really the show is the experience of the theater that’s curated and led by the Blue Men; it isn’t just the Blue Men doing one little trick after another, it’s the whole space.”

And even before ticketholders step foot into the theater, decorations attract onlookers and show goers alike with curiosity-inducing displays and luring art highlighting the childlike wonderment that embodies the essence of the Blue Man character.

Aside from the illuminated Blue Man Group theater banner and the all-things Blue Man gift shop in the gathering space outside of the entrance, a one-of-a-kind interactive video installation covers a portion of the theater’s exterior.

“We took some old video pieces that we made for an old video suit in the show at Monte Carlo and repurposed them onto this wall,” explained Blue Man Group Creative Director, Bill Swartz. “We wanted people to have something to be able to play with and have a really tactile interaction with.”

Interactive video installation… we dare you to push the big red button.

With dozens of flips, switches, knobs and one big red button, this display has the ability to transform colors and light patterns just by indulging in curiosity. “We didn’t want to be super heavy handed about what it’s all doing so it doesn’t say, ‘Hey! Come play with me!’ so it’s really inviting curiosity so that people have to figure it out for themselves…if you’re like a kid and you’re not scared to touch stuff, which I’ve seen quite a bit since I’ve been here, then they very quickly see that this [changes the display lights to] red, this does green, this does blue, and mix them together and try different things.”

And with new experience additions such as the interactive wall overflowing into the production itself, Blue Man Group first-timers as well as patrons will get to experience some new instrumental acts in the show.

“One of my favorite images of Blue Man is the paint, the colorful paint splashing off the drums while they’re playing; the combination of sound and music with a visual representation really hits you pretty hard,” explained Blue Man Group Creative Director Jeff Turlig. “So, we continued to play with this idea and in this show, which we started to develop at the Monte Carlo but I think we amped it up here, is this idea of using smoke and using the space to create a momentary painting that’s just going to dissipate away and I think it’s really just a beautiful image.”

Other changes that will be seen integrated into the Blue Man Group experience lie largely within the production’s instrumentation.

“We’re always developing new things and whenever we have a chance to update a show or a move like this, it’s a good opportunity to finally stick it in so, we’ve been experimenting with different materials over the years,” Turlig explained. “Everyone sort of knows Blue Man Group for the PVC pipe instruments and we’ve been exploring working with metal a little bit more and with other things to make the experience from a musical instrument more than just a musical experience.” Wink joked, “We are bringing heavy metal back!”

“Subliminally, the Blue Men are interested in exploring that, no matter how technological things become, the desire to connect, the love of the live experience is still going to be there. It’s part of who we are — it’s part of our DNA,” Wink explained. “Nothing against Facebook or Twitter or whatever, but there’s a reason why live theater is stronger than ever. No one is talking about how live theater is going away and the internet is killing live experience. No one is saying that people aren’t going to sports and concerts and Vegas shows. What’s happening is that people are going to tons of them. So, that’s interesting that no matter how much these little portals into the internet transform our lives, [though] in many ways good, they still don’t replace the need for a heightened experience.

“What we’ve always tried to do is created a heightened experience of aliveness, ” he continued. “That’s kind of what we mean when we say, ‘live life in full color.’ it’s just sort of those moments when you go to the theater, whether it’s Blue Man or somewhere else, you just go, ‘wow, I feel so alive’ and that’s what we are about.”

Having thrived in the Entertainment Capital of the World for nearly three decades as well as elsewhere across the globe, the “sensory overload” that is Blue Man Group is bigger and better yet more intimate.

And while we foresee a bright and everlasting future ahead of this globally acclaimed troupe of performers, we currently want just want to rejoice their Luxor homecoming until we too, are blue in the face.

Get your Blue Man Group tickets and see them perform in their new home at the Luxor seven nights per week.

Comments

Trading one desert for another, I moved to Las Vegas from Arizona nearly three years ago. It was something about the sparkling lights and the all-encompassing entertainment factor that persuaded me to swap cacti for casinos and dry heat for well…even drier heat. And while I do love a good show, I will always keep true to my country girl ways seeing that I am an absolute sucker for a good country concert and will always indulge the opportunity to go out country dancing! But in a city that undoubtedly has some of the world’s best cuisine, a wild assortment of endless experiences, and of course phenomenal shows, Vegas certainly has that unparalleled good time vibe that can make a city slicker out of just about anyone… including myself!